More than 1,800 rape kits had gone untested when the state attorney general’s office announced the results of a survey last year. That survey included all of the counties in Michigan except Wayne County. Last month, Kalamazoo County tested 194 rape kits. Some of them were 30 years old. The testing cost the county $144,000 in state funds.
Kalamazoo County prosecutor Jeff Getting says from now on all rape kits will be tested. Grants from the Manhattan District Attorney's Office and the Bureau of Justice Assistance will help pay for future testing. A special assistant attorney general has been appointed to Kalamazoo County and two investigators have been hired to identify and review cases.
"Morning Edition" host Doug Tribou spoke with Kalamazoo County Chief Assistant Prosecutor Scott Brower about some reasons why rape kits go untested and what the county plans to do with the new information.
